Recruiting analyst: Gonzaga is in ‘an amazing position’ regarding 2023 small forward Kaden Cooper

The Gonzaga Bulldogs currently have just one player – wing Dusty Stromer – committed to the program beyond the 2022 season.

That is expected to change relatively soon, as the staff continues to put out offers for high-level prospects in the recruiting class of 2023.

One of those offers went to Kaden Cooper, a small forward from Ada, Oklahoma who included Gonzaga among his top ten programs at the end of last month.

Gonzaga is one of two official visits on the books already for Cooper, with the other being his hometown Oklahoma Sooners. While that spells great news for the Zags, it does sound like Cooper expects to take at least two more visits to Texas and LSU, and could visit with the defending champion Kansas Jayhawks as well.

“I think he is going to take these visits, and visits can change things here and there but I do think (Gonzaga is) in a great position,” Sports Illustrated recruiting analyst Jason Jordan said on a recent episode of the Locked on Zags podcast. “I think Oklahoma will be a player for sure, he talked about home cooking and all that stuff. But I definitely think (Gonzaga is) in an amazing position at this point.”

Cooper rose quickly up prospect rankings thanks to a strong showing on the summer circuit. He is currently ranked No. 45 on 247Sports’ rankings, and would immediately give the Zags a replacement on the wing following the departure of Rasir Bolton next season, and likely departure of Julian Strawther as well.

Cooper was “blown away” by his visit to Spokane over Hoopfest weekend, telling Jordan how highly he thinks of the coaching staff and how the players are “basically like Gods on campus”.

“He was just wowed by that,” Jordan continued. “It was really fascinating to him I could tell.”

Cooper has not set a timeline for an announcement, and with multiple visits potentially still to come it will likely be a while before we hear about a commitment from the Oklahoma native. But, at least at this point in time, Gonzaga is right in the conversation for his high-flying services.

Leave a Reply